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Arena Killer
Arena Killer was a competitor in the first series of Dutch Robot Wars. It fought through to the second round, defeating The Lethal Swan in the opening battle of the series before it fell to eventual runners-up Lizzard. Under the name of Absolut Krankhaft, the robot also competed in German Robot Wars. An unfortunate draw caused Absolut Krankhaft to fall in the first round against the eventual champion and runner-up, Black Hole and Tsunami. Design Arena Killer was a small two-wheel drive, wedge-shaped robot armed with an electric powered lifter, which it used to topple other robots over. It was painted blue and white, with its initials 'AK' painted red and the lifter finished in black with silver teeth at the bottom. Unusually, Arena Killer's wedge did not entirely extend to the rest of its body, with the robot's wheel arches being clearly seen protruding from the narrow box section behind the wedge. Notably, Absolut Krankhaft in the German series was six kilograms heavier than Arena Killer at the time of Dutch Series 1, although the specific cause of this weight increase is unknown. Etymology The name Arena Killer refers to the Robot Wars Arena, combined with 'Killer'. To match the name, the letters A and K were welded onto the robot in red. For its appearance in the German series, Arena Killer was renamed to appease a new German-speaking audience. Due to the letters A and K being present on the side of the robot, team member Werner Hess suggested the name Absolut Krankhaft. This directly translates from German as "Absolutely Morbid" or "Absolutely Nauseating". The Team Arena Killer was entered into Dutch Series 1 by Team KOSMOS. This name was a portmanteau of the team captain Jeroen van der Loo and his nickname "Kos", and his teammate Jochem Morvel, and also referenced the cosmos. Jeroen van der Loo was the driver of the robot, having been the lead builder of the machine, and he was also joined on the team by Peter van Berkel. For their appearance in the German series, the team adapted a new name of Team KODOX, combining Jeroen van der Loo's nickname Kos with his new teammate Maddox (Mario de Jongh). The pair of Dutch roboteers were also joined by Werner Hess, a German speaker who represented the team in their interviews during the series. Team KODOX would later go on to compete in Robot Wars with the more successful Tough as Nails. Robot History Dutch Series 1 In its first battle, Arena Killer faced The Lethal Swan. The robots danced around each other in the opening stages, with Arena Killer sustaining a small blow from the Swan's head. Arena Killer then attacked The Lethal Swan from the side, flipping it over and immobilising it. Arena Killer kept out of the way of the House Robots, having won the first battle of the series. In the second round, Arena Killer met Lizzard. Several times, it tried to lift Lizzard, but had no success. It was swiped by Lizzard's tail before being pushed into a CPZ, where Shunt axed it and flipped it with its scoop. Arena Killer could not self-right, so Shunt axed its underside before righting it. Lizzard was immobilised by the house robots at the end, but the match still went to a jury's decision because Lizzard was still mobile and should not have been attacked. The decision was in favour of Lizzard, and Arena Killer was eliminated. German Series Arena Killer also entered German Robot Wars under the name Absolut Krankhaft. It fought in Heat B, against the eventual finalists Black Hole and Tsunami. Almost immediately in its melee, a team effort by Black Hole and Tsunami threw Absolut Krankhaft onto its back, Black Hole cutting through the 2mm steel plate armour and bending the 5mm flange from the IPE80 frame in the process. Tsunami then righted Absolut Krankhaft; however almost immediately flipped it over again. Absolut Krankhaft was counted out by Refbot and paraded around the arena by Sir Killalot, flipped by the floor flipper, burnt over the flame pit and eventually pitted, eliminating it from the competition. Results |} |} Wins/Losses *Dutch Wins: 1 *Dutch Losses: 1 *German Wins: 0 *German Losses: 1 Series Record AKinsides.png|The insides of Arena Killer arenakiller german insides.jpg|Absolut Krankhaft's insides during the German Series Dutch Series German Series UK Series Outside Robot Wars Arena Killer was dismantled in the late 2000's, with team captain Jeroen van der Loo focusing on his new machine, Tough as Nails. Trivia *Arena Killer is the only robot to enter two different national versions of Robot Wars (Dutch Series 1 and the German Series) without ever appearing in the UK series. However, Arena Killer's successor Tough as Nails went on to compete in the UK series instead. *During its introduction in Dutch Series 1, Arena Killer's strength was listed as its self-righting mechanism. However, during its introduction in the German series as Absolut Krankhaft, its weakness was listed as its lack of a self-righting mechanism. Arena Killer did not have a self-righting mechanism. Category:Dutch Robots Category:Dutch Series competitors Category:German Series competitors Category:Robots with Lifters Category:Two Nation Competitors Category:Robots with more Losses than Wins